SWAT team members roll a stretcher after the suspect in the shooting of three law enforcement officers was found dead Monday, Jan. 24, 2011 in south St. Petersburg, Fla. Authorities say two Florida police officers were fatally shot while trying to arrest a suspect. A U.S. marshal also was wounded. An hourslong standoff that ended when the suspect was found dead inside the home. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Sergeant John Delaney gets up for work each day, and like any other man, puts one shoe on before the other. But Delaney’s line of duty entails enough dangers that unlike most men, his breakfast thoughts can include “this 8-hour shift could be my last.”

Within the last month, a strange series of unrelated, yet violent police shootings occurred across the country, the Associated Press reported yesterday.

According to the New York Times, thirteen officers have been shot, killing four and leaving several in critical conditions since last Thursday. Eleven of the shootings occurred within a 24-hour window.

With such an unusual rash of violence against law enforcers, citizens are left wondering why such violence has happened.

“It’s the economy and how it is right now. It has driven people to take more chances than they ever have,” said Springfield’s Community Police Advocate Officer Charles Youmans. “We have more people robbing banks than before, we have more people committing crimes and thinking they can get away with it than we used to see.”

Local police officers stand in solidarity condemning the attackers, while also analyzing these criminals’ attitudes towards law enforcement.

“These are items in the news that police officers pay very special attention to,” said Sergeant John Delaney, who is Springfield’s Executive Aid to Police Commissioner William Fitchet. “We look at those [headlines] and it’s a reminder to us about our job. A reminder that when we leave the house to kiss our wife or girlfriend good-bye before [leaving] the door. It’s a reminder to us that we have to pay special attention to what we do.”

“All cops are on guard,” Youmans said.

Delaney is a 28-year veteran of the Springfield Police Department. He highlighted the importance of an officer’s training and attitude while on the job.

Delaney said it important for cops to always wear bullet proof vests and to never treat any incident, whether it is a domestic issue or traffic stop, as “routine.” In the most recent shootings, all four of the fatally wounded officers were serving warrants in Florida.

“At the Springfield Department, we have the luxury of having officers train us constantly,” said Delaney. “We are trained and trained and trained again. We rely on our training to pull us through tight situations.”

“Sometimes I do think about what could happen to my brothers,” continued Delaney. “But we talk about it amongst ourselves when we see these things come down.”

“It’s a changing world out there,” he said. “Where there are drugs, there is violence. And where there is violence there are guns.”

“With the recent shootings and recent deaths, it just makes you more aware of things that can really happen to you. Things that really take place,” Youmans said. “Even though you’re trying to do your job, your family comes into play. You’re thinking you have to make it home back to them. Do your job, and then go home safe tonight.”

Despite the police shootings, Delaney maintains police officers continue to deal with the risk of their jobs because of their need to help the public.

“The men and women that choose to be police officers do it for a reason,” he said. “We have a calling.”